About Ted’s Talk

First Read highlights what you need to know about Sen. Ted Cruz’s all-nighter on the Senate floor:

“One, it’s technically not a filibuster, because it isn’t stopping any of today’s action in the Senate. Two, the legislation that the Senate is considering is the House GOP effort to fund the government and also defund the president’s health care law, so some Republicans are puzzled why Cruz is waging this crusade since the legislation is exactly what Ted Cruz begged the House to do… And three, there’s only one real beneficiary of this long speech — Ted Cruz. Indeed, probably taking the criticism he received from House Republicans to heart, Cruz’s speech creates the illusion he’s doing something when he really isn’t; in fact, he’s risking nothing other than the ire of his fellow Republican senators.”

Dallas Morning News: “Condemned from all sides, Sen. Ted Cruz launched a talkathon
Tuesday intended to cripple Obamacare but aimed — inconveniently — at a
bill that would deliver exactly what he asked for.”